We are too harsh towards usyk

[kafkod]

No. The first available opportunity was when Rico went down with his head between the ropes. The ref let him spit the mouthpiece to chew time instead of calling time out. He let Rico get up and saw that he was defenceless in the follow up. The minute in the corner wouldnt have saved him. Usyk would.....if not knocking him out...would have at least dropped him more than once in the final round. Fury said it best when he said Rico put up a great fight but just ran out of energy.

So the referee did make a poor decision with the mouthpiece, but didn't make one with stopping the fight after the end of the round?

It's impossible to explain to people simple boxing rules: Rico got knocked down. The referee must and did so - start counting. After Rico beat the count, he had to go to the next corner, his corner, to have the mouthpiece washed and back into his mouth. You can't do that while being counted, nor can the referee count and save you time by doing it himself at the same time.

Now imagine the same situation if both fighters switch roles...





Some people are fine with corruption only when it serves Usyk. No one defended, let's say Canelo, as he is the number one in that aspect (followed by Usyk).

Check out this video. It shows the interaction between the ref and Rico after the KD. Rico is laying against the ropes in a corner. The ref finishes the 8 count and beckons for him step forward, but Rico stays in the corner and bares his teeth to show the ref his mouth guard is out. The ref then picks up the mouth guard and leads Rico to his own corner to have it replaced. What isn't shown there is Rico on unsteady legs as he crosses the ring and the ref not spotting that because he's focused on the mouth guard.

If the ref had been looking for an excuse to stop the fight, which is the narrative that some people are pushing, all he had to do was apply the rules correctly and it would have been over right there, when Rico stayed against the ropes in the corner after being told to to step forward. That was exactly what happened when AJ got stopped in the first Ruiz fight. AJ also spat his mouth guard when he went down, and he also stayed in a corner when the ref told him to step foward. AJ said he stayed in the corner because he thought the ref was going to replace his mouth guard. The ref said he needed to see if AJ had his legs back before doing anything else, and he stopped the fight because AJ didn't show him that.

[kafkod]

so do most top level kickboxers and MMA fighters - part time.

your point?

No, they didn't, not to the same extent as Rico. That's my point.

[kafkod]

And been on all manner of enhancers very likely. A guy of that mass moving that way for 12 rounds is a huge red flag.

That's a good point, because Usyk will have been in the WBC's Clean Boxing Program for years, and Rico was only given permission to fight for the WBC title five minutes ago,

[SouthpawRight]

Nah he’s just not the GOAT.

ATG for sure and incredible boxing skills but he can’t fight inside. His inside game is piss poor and we saw glimpses of this vs Del Boy. As some others have said, I’d favour pretty much all elite level swarmers to not just beat him but to ragdoll his ass.

Inoue is the best of this generation. I put Bam ahead of him to and Crawford. Maybe even Bivol.

TBud has the single buffest win among moderns

Naruto Ninja Naoya has been far more consistent

TBud top 25 all time

Naruto Ninja Naoya top 30 all time but can surpass TBud by beating JESSE bbc Bruce and/or Rafael

Top Soviet Bivol races pass Cossack Oleksandr by mopping Fat Dave & Buff Guy Jai. Currently held back by the fact that he has been a one division boxer.

JESSE ranking is nerfed he's more dwarf than Naruto Ninja Naoya and dwarf divisions need to get more respect

[Mimms]

Check out this video. It shows the interaction between the ref and Rico after the KD. Rico is laying against the ropes in a corner. The ref finishes the 8 count and beckons for him step forward, but Rico stays in the corner and bares his teeth to show the ref his mouth guard is out. The ref then picks up the mouth guard and leads Rico to his own corner to have it replaced. What isn't shown there is Rico on unsteady legs as he crosses the ring and the ref not spotting that because he's focused on the mouth guard.

If the ref had been looking for an excuse to stop the fight, which is the narrative that some people are pushing, all he had to do was apply the rules correctly and it would have been over right there, when Rico stayed against the ropes in the corner after being told to to step forward. That was exactly what happened when AJ got stopped in the first Ruiz fight. AJ also spat his mouth guard when he went down, and he also stayed in a corner when the ref told him to step foward. AJ said he stayed in the corner because he though the ref was going to replace his mouth guard. The ref said he needed to see if AJ had his legs back before doing anything else, and he stopped the fight because AJ didn't show him that.

good video, clean shots by usyk . ref saved rico

[daggum]

TBud has the single buffest win among moderns

Naruto Ninja Naoya has been far more consistent

TBud top 25 all time

Naruto Ninja Naoya top 30 all time but can surpass TBud by beating JESSE bbc Bruce and/or Rafael

Top Soviet Bivol races pass Cossack Oleksandr by mopping Fat Dave & Buff Guy Jai. Currently held back by the fact that he has been a one division boxer.

JESSE ranking is nerfed he's more dwarf than Naruto Ninja Naoya and dwarf divisions need to get more respect

inoue's resume is much better than crawfords. moving up to beat 35 year old canelo who had been ducking the best fighter in his division for 4 years isnt the flex you think it is. its a good win but i dont think its as good as beating donaire at 118 where he was unbeaten and dominant, or prime fulton or prime nakatani. maybe its on par with those at best. the rest of inoues resume is much deeper with quality and quantity as well

[SouthpawRight]

inoue's resume is much better than crawfords. moving up to beat 35 year old canelo who had been ducking the best fighter in his division for 4 years isnt the flex you think it is. its a good win but i dont think its as good as beating donaire at 118 where he was unbeaten and dominant, or prime fulton or prime nakatani. maybe its on par with those at best. the rest of inoues resume is much deeper with quality and quantity as well

yes I have TBud and Naruto Ninja Naoya as top 30 all time and well ahead of Oleksandr

Top Soviet Bivol has some catching up to do to race pass them

TBud and Naruto Ninja Naoya have also been far more dominant than Oleksandr

Mairis Josh Flabby Fury all took 4 to 5 rounds each time

In their biggest fights TBud and Naruto Ninja Naoya were mopping foes

[FlatLine]

He fought a huge awkward guy, who is not even a boxer, but he is a kickboxer. Usyk is 39 old, he clearly overlooked the guy, but at the end of the day he won by a stoppage.

Usyk will be in shape against Kabayel.

Usyk's hardest fight at cruiserweight was also against a former kickboxing champ with 70 kickboxing bouts. Mairis Briedis.

[SouthpawRight]

51ee9c4f5e9644409c652047d651ccb8

[JimRaynor]

In shape may no longer be as good as before

Oleksandr took a lot of punishment from a giant

those clean right hands and body shots are taxing on his bordering 40 body

No one defeats Father Time. You can have the best training camp ever in your mind, but if your body doesn't cooperate and your reflexes are shot (Which is primarily what Usyk relies on) then you're toast at the top level. Only a handful of heavyweights have ever held the championship belt past 39 years of age, one was George Foreman, the other Vitali Klitschko the third is Oleksandr Usyk.

Based off that last performance against Rico, I'd give any top heavyweight today a 50/50 or better chance to beat Usyk, this includes Dubois, Fury, and Kabayel.